Giro di Burnaby is an exciting event, both for racers and spectators, and this year businesses have put together a crowd prime that is sure to impress.
Pronounced “preem,” the primes are sprinting contests within the race that don’t affect the final outcome but allow racers to compete for a bonus prize or cash. Sponsored by local businesses, the primes are announced by ringing bells, which indicates to racers that the sprint is about to start – and according to organizers, this year’s crowd prime “is definitely a bell ringer.”
This year, Dandy Horse Cycles, Felt Bicycles, the Burnaby Velodrome’s Aboriginal Youth Cycling program and Fortius Sport & Health have all contributed to the crowd prime. People who donate $5 or more to the crowd prime will be entered to win a prize package worth more than $1,500. The package features a brand new Felt bike, a learn-to-ride package from the Velodrome, a cycling jersey, a lab cycling assessment from Fortius and some swag.
“It’s a pretty wicked prize package,” Mike Grant, manager at Dandy Horse Cycles, told the NOW.
Dandy Horse Cycles opened in April 2013 and while they were part of last year’s Giro, this year Grant said they wanted to do more.
“It’s definitely something we’re super excited to be involved in,” he said. “We’re a really heavily community-involved shop. It’s a big thing for us to be involved with a lot of volunteer stuff.”
Employees at Dandy Horse Cycles volunteer a lot of their time in the community, visiting local schools, offering tune-ups to riders at the Burnaby Velodrome and different bike clubs, Grant said.
Giro is just another way the local bike shop is helping out its community, he added.
“Being heavily involved in the community is of big importance to us,” Grant said.
Last year, Dandy Horse set up a bike valet for spectators who rode their bikes to the Giro, while Grant said the experience was fun, this year will be much more exciting.
“We’re really excited for this year. It’s going to be a lot different. This year, we’ll actually be right on one of the corners of the racecourse,” he said.
The Dandy Horse booth, at Madison Avenue and Hastings Street, will feature information on services the shop offers and brands it carries. In addition to donating a brand new Felt bike for the crowd prime package, Dandy Horse is also donating two more bikes – a children’s bike to be raffled off at the Kidz Zone and a Brodie hybrid bike, which will be raffled off to one lucky Giro volunteer.
Ten per cent of the crowd prime will be donated to the Aboriginal Youth Cycling program run out of the Burnaby Velodrome. Members of the program will be collecting donations from the crowd on the day of the event. Donations can also be made at the Dandy Horse Cycles tent at Madison Avenue and Hastings Street on event day. If people can’t make it on July 10 or want to get their $5 donation in early, they can enter the raffle by visiting Dandy Horse Cycles at 6661 Hastings St.
